A 6 or 7 week old kitten, on Friday Apr. 2, 2010, which was brought into the animal shelter, in San Francisco, Calif. on Mar. 29, is one of three feral cats that were taking from inside an old military hanger that is being used to store evidence by the San Francisco crime lab. The cats, two adults and one kitten were found sleeping, eating rodents and going to the bathroom around the stored evidence.The two adult cats, also at the shelter, are very frightened and difficult to handle and were unable to be photographed The shelter hopes to socialize the kitten and put it up for adoption within 1-2 weeks.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

A 6 or 7 week old kitten, on Friday Apr. 2, 2010, which was brought...

I am the immediate past chairman of the San Francisco Republican Party and a San Francisco GOP delegate since 1995.

People like Celeste Greig and her followers are the reasons the California Republican Party is in the sorry shape it's in. ("S.F. GOP chief too left for the state party's right," Feb. 6).

They are very much like the San Franciscans who hide behind the "progressive" label who eschew common sense and operate and legislate based strictly on ideology without regard to the consequences of their actions.

Here in San Francisco, the Republican Party often backs the least offensive non-Republican candidate in nonpartisan local elections when there is no viable Republican in the race, such as the district attorney election between Kamala Harris and Terence Hallinan.

As a philosophical and financial supporter, I've certainly experienced moments of frustration, and even horror, as the ACLU has accepted the task, so utterly necessary, of defending the free speech, assembly or expression of groups or ideologies that I find to be personally abhorrent.

When Celeste Greig and the California Republican Assembly attack the organization as communists, they display their ignorance and anticonstitutional bias at a hysterical level.

I do believe there is good news hidden in this morally and ethically bankrupt diatribe.

The more people who truly believe in the American Experiment in self-governance who read these comments, the less influential the antidemocratic reactionaries of these wing-nut organizations will be.

That can't be anything but a positive and healthy trend for our nation.

Party on, Oakland

In response to Chip Johnson's column "Bigger not better for First Friday events" (Feb. 5):

As the destination-marketing organization for Oakland, Visit Oakland is extremely saddened by the events that transpired after last week's First Friday.

Oakland has a decades-long history of hosting hundreds of large-scale public events without incident. Events such as the Eat Real Festival in Jack London Square, Oakland Running Festival, Dia de los Muertos festival in Fruitvale, Temescal Street Festival, Chinatown Lunar New Year Celebration and others have all thrived from year to year.

Oakland's diverse community is celebrated through these events, and we all take pride in the variety of cultural activities that make up this great destination. Festivals are a growth industry for Oakland and the Bay Area. These events draw an estimated attendance of 4 million people per year annually, and while many other cities have shown a decline in festivals and events, Oakland continues to flourish.

The Art & Soul Festival has been recognized by The Chronicle as one of the top must-see festivals in Northern California alongside top-tier events such as Outside Lands. Events and festivals, along with dining and cultural activities, are the recipe for sustainable economic development.

Alison Best, president and CEO,

Visit Oakland

Klamath: Just fix it

I can't believe we are still lingering over the Klamath River ("Save the Klamath," Editorial, Feb. 6).

If it were a business contemplating such decisions, the project would be long completed. Just get it done and move on quickly to other important projects.

Cats protect us from vermin

However, the other forms of wildlife that most often fall victim to cats - both feral and domestic - are rats and mice.

In fact, cats do a much-needed job in keeping these pests under control and in the process protect human beings from the diseases spread by these rodents and the fleas they carry. Nobody thinks much about bubonic plague these days, but it is still out there, and cats are one of our first lines of defense against this deadly scourge.

So a balanced approach that recognizes the important role cats play as hunters in preserving our health and well-being needs to be considered.

The best and most humane solution

As an organization dedicated to the welfare of animals, we hope that the recent study about outdoor cats can be used as an opportunity to educate the public about the importance of keeping their cats indoors and about making a lifetime commitment to their cats.

The problem of abandoned cats is a community issue for which we all have some responsibility.

Unfortunately, Mike Lynes' article unfairly mischaracterized trap-neuter-return programs as the problem, when it is the best solution we have for humanely decreasing the feral cat population and one that is in sync with our no-kill philosophy.

San Francisco is a model for abandoned cat management. In 2011, cat intake in San Francisco was down 12 percent due to our aggressive program. Last year, our volunteers trapped over 1,500 feral cats, brought them to the San Francisco SPCA for free spay/neuter surgeries and returned them to their colonies. That translates into tens of thousands of cats that aren't roaming our open spaces.

Cats with bells on

Raised by hippies, I was raised well

I was surprised that The Chronicle would publish such a hateful comment as "Keep the celebration in check" (Letters, Feb. 2), the author of which claimed that people raised by "wolves or hippies" were responsible for rioters destroying cars and storefronts after sporting events.

What?

I was raised by hippies, and so were many people in this city - after all, we were the center of the Summer of Love.

The legacy of the hippies is fighting sexism, racism and homophobia, to create integration and true equal opportunity for all, and fighting against violence and unnecessary wars that have killed millions in the Third World, particularly in Vietnam.

I was raised to believe in equality, feminism, peace, freedom and love, never to burn strangers' cars or storefronts.

Bad things happen, but that inaccurate accusation is about as stupid as blaming Iraq for 9/11 and then invading and bombing and causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, people who would still be alive if we'd listened to the hippies and their wisdom in opposing Vietnam and war in general.